The massive salary disparity between Paige Bueckers of the Dallas Wings and this year’s projected number one draft pick, Cooper Flagg, has been making waves recently.
The WNBA has been ascending in popularity, especially since Caitlin Clark arrived. Bueckers appears primed to be the next marketable star. Players wish to be fairly compensated with the league’s record attendance figures and a new TV deal. Despite this, the salary difference between an NBA and a WNBA player is enormous, showing there is still work to do regarding closing the pay gap.
Lauren Holiday Reacts to Huge Disparity in Flagg and Bueckers’ Salaries
According to the graphic’s information, Flagg will earn more in one game than Bueckers will in a season. Jrue Holiday’s wife, Lauren Holiday, reacted to this through an Instagram story recently. She wrote, “Change is coming.”
Furthermore, as the projected number one overall pick in this year’s NBA draft, Cooper Flag is eligible to sign a $62 million contract over four years. However, Bueckers has just signed a deal worth $348,000 over four years. Holliday’s wife, Lauren, rightly points out a massive disparity here.
Labor discussions regarding this issue have led to the WNBA opting out of the CBA last year. Angel Reese has also gone as far as to say there have been internal discussions among players about a possible players’ strike.
With ticket sales and attendance figures spiking considerably this past year, and the WNBA signing a lucrative TV deal, it is viewed around the league that it’s time to compensate the players fairly, especially in accordance with the increased revenue stream toward the WNBA.
Kelsey Plum is also unhappy with the enormous gap, and expressed a wish for WNBA players to get a piece of the revenue sharing.
Furthermore, Reese was quoted as saying on her podcast: “I’m hearing that, if the league doesn’t give us what we want, we’ll sit out.”
All eyes are now on CBA negotiations.
Optimism Towards Fairer Pay
According to reports, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Englebert said after their recent draft, “I’m very optimistic that we’ll get something done, and it will be transformational.” Also, providing caution that it needs to be within the economic confines of their business model.
Still, this has to be considered good news as they plan on sitting down and hashing out a deal soon. Especially, considering the new WNBA season is on the horizon, which will start on May 16th.
Considering the marketability of Collins and Bueckers, Reese and Kelsey Plum, they shouldn’t be forced to rely mainly on outside endorsements and sneaker deals. The new CBA should hopefully bridge the vast disparity between their salary and endorsements.
Currently, the players work under the same conditions as the opted-out CBA, but it’s clear that patience is running thin for discussions to progress quickly in favor of fairer pay for the new one.